Climate Crisis

Check out this new report about U.S. wind energy potential. It will blow you away!

The Difference Wind Power is Making Today

Today, wind power provides over 4.5% of U.S. electricity nationwide, and over 20% in several states. Some of the exciting trends we’ve recently seen in American wind power include:

Wind is reaching more and more families – Wind power has delivered a third of all new power capacity in the past five yeras, and a record number of new projects are under construction today.

Wind is employing more and more Americans – Wind power has supported an average of 73,000 well-paying American jobs over the past five years and can create hundreds of thousands more with stable, common-sense policies.

Wind power prices are coming down fast – In the past five years, the cost of wind power has dropped by over 50% — and is still decreasing!

Expanding Wind Power Will Help Us Tackle Some of Our Biggest Challenges

In tapping our homegrown wind resource, we will tackle some of our biggest challenges:

Reducing air pollution by displacing dirty forms of energy with clean wind power. As we secure more of our power from wind, we will cut emissions of carbon, sulfur, and nitrous oxides, as well as particulate matter, which harm our health and environment. This would mean a $400 billion savings in climate change damages and an additional $108 billion savings on public health costs.

Conserving our water resources by growing a source of power that requires little to no water. Using wind in place of power plants that require substantial amounts of water for cooling processes would cut total U.S. power plant water use by about one quarter, or 260 billion gallons, in 2050 alone.

Creating high-paying American jobs in the manufacturing, construction, engineering, and transportation sectors, among others. American wind industry jobs would total 600,000 in 2050.

We’ll get there by reaching smaller targets along the way – including doubling the amount of power we get from wind in the next five years. That’s moving us up from securing 4.5% of our electricity from wind power nationwide today, to 10% by 2020.

The Power of Wind community will play a key part in creating this healthier country, by voicing support for the smart, fair energy policies that value clean power. One quick thing you can do today is make sure your elected officials see this report – please take a moment to send them a note today.

The Power of Wind community shares a vision of an America where every family has an easy, affordable way to power their home with clean energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Vision report gives a clear picture of how we can create that future. It shows that wind power can grow from providing over 4.5% of U.S. electricity today to 35% by 2050, becoming America’s largest source of electricity.

Just hours ago, the Nebraska Supreme Court failed to nullify the unconstitutional law that places Keystone XL above the rights of landowners to protect their land and water.

While this wrongheaded decision is a blow to our friends who have bravely fought Keystone XL on the ground in Nebraska for years, it also puts this dirty tar sands pipeline one step closer to being rejected. Now that the route in Nebraska is known, the Obama administration can finally decide if KXL is in our national interest.

President Obama has made it clear that Keystone XL can’t be in our national interest — and thus must be rejected — if it increases carbon pollution and makes climate change worse.

It has always been clear that Keystone XL will do just that. In 2014 alone, three major tar sands projects were canceled because they were simply unprofitable given rising costs, lower oil prices and lack of market access from pipelines like Keystone XL. Approving Keystone XL would open the floodgates of climate-damaging tar sands crude flowing through the U.S. — which is just what Big Oil needs to expand production.

The only ones who still want this disastrous pipeline are the oil industry and its bought-and-paid-for friends in Congress. We saw this again today as the House of Representatives voted to approve KXL, fulfilling their promise to Big Oil. That bill failed to get enough votes to override President Obama’s promised veto, and the president still has the sole authority to decide this matter once and for all.

What this vote did do, however, was show once again that while the rest of the country is ready to invest in clean, renewable energy, they’re investing in denial and trying desperately to keep America dependent on outdated sources of fuel.

We know that Governor Pat, the Republican lead NC legislature and DENR will do everything possible to delay and weaken a Clean Power Plan for North Carolina. We also know that the Koch Brothers, ALEC, the John Locke Foundation, Duke Energy, and the oil and gas industry will be actively lobbying our Governor and elected officials to oppose a strong Clean Power Plan. We need all hands on deck to be a part of a North Carolina Clean Clean Power plan fight. And you can’t be an effective advocate and activist if you don’t know the facts. That’s why you need to join us Monday, January 12th, from 5:00 til 6:00 for a Sierra Club Clean Power Plan webinar!

Pissed off and looking to make a difference in 2015? Want to learn how to be a more effective advocate? Then we have a North Carolina Sierra Club webinar just for you!

Developing a powerful and effective North Carolina Clean Power Plan can make a huge difference. Join us Thursday, January 8th, at 5:30 PM for our first first webinar for information, tips and tricks, and a generalized overview of organizing basics, strategy planning and campaign development.

Thanks to our great NC Sierra Club staff for their work in preparing the 2014 Annual Report. Click below to download and read a copy.

All members with current dues paid should have received a copy of the NC Sierra Club Annual report and election ballot. This year we are encouraging everyone to vote electronically, although you can still submit a paper ballot.

The ballot page hosts candidate information and the official ballot for the Executive Committee elections for the NC Sierra Club. Candidate statements are located below the ballot.

Only Sierra Club members are allowed to vote in this election and your member number is required to submit your ballot.

Member numbers are located on the address label of the NC Sierra Club Annual Report. If you did not receive a copy of the Annual Report and need help finding your member number, please contact Janet Joye Smith at ncsierracg@gmail.com.

Tell the US Climate Change Envoy to seek strong and equitable international commitments at the Lima summit.

On Monday, December 1, the UN Climate Change Conference kicks off in Lima, Peru. This is an important opportunity to demonstrate to leaders from across the globe that the world demands action now on climate.

I’m excited to be attending the Lima conference as part of a Sierra Student Coalition delegation. Across the globe, students and youth are voicing our generation’s concern about the dire consequences of climate change and the need for immediate action.

In September, I attended the People’s Climate March and was struck by the growth of our movement — indigenous and frontline communities, labor unions, faith groups, and climate activists of all ages marched as one. We sent a clear message and the world took notice! “When you have more than 400,000 people in the streets of NYC… that’s political will that’s getting exercised,” said Todd Stern after the march.

The talks in Lima will set the stage for Paris climate negotiations in 2015, where an agreement on global climate action will be sought. The recent U.S./China climate agreement demonstrates that world leaders are taking our message to heart. However, we can and must do more to avert climate catastrophe.